Cook from scratch, ready meals, a combination. What's your cooking style?

[Gemini]

This is prompted by the thread about Christmas cooking.
It made me wonder what we all do generally? I think a lot of it depends on how busy we are and how many there are to cook for. My mum relies on ready meals a lot, as she can't be bothered to cook for one every day.

I try to cook from scratch, but I certainly don't make a religion of it, and will happily cut corners.
We never make Yorkshire puddings, despite being Yorkshire girls. We find Aunt Bessie's perfectly acceptable, 4 minutes and no mixing!
There are 2 Tesco Finest ready meals that we eat from time to time. Moussaka and Luxury Fish Pie. We love them, they are just the right size for us two with the addition of veg or salad, and just need popping in the oven.
I also use small jars of tomato and mascarpone sauce from Aldi sometimes, to add to homemade pasta sauces. I love homemade soup and make it regularly, but we still eat Heinz from time to time.
I have always used bought mincemeat for mince pies, but this year am making my own, from a recipe of our Recipes section
I always buy a Christmas pudding, but always make mince pies and Christmas cake

In which ways do you cut corners in your cooking, and are there some things you would only cook from scratch?.

[Oma]

We make most from scratch but don't think there is anything wrong with cutting corners from time to time ,I'm not a fan of ready meals but Brian doesn't mind a Moussaka or a lasagne , I love Heinz tomato soup , we use jars of curry sauce there are some good ones out there and at the moment I'm into frozen sweet potato chips , we do make our own yorkshires but just because Brian likes them better I don't mind Aunt Bessie at all , I never have take away food ,Brian and Josh order Domino Pizzas when having a sleep over and I make myself something else just don't like them and I worked in a Chinese restaurant for long enough I know how they made and what the kitchens are like . We do have stir fry but home made I like to know what goes into my food I'm a right wimp ,on the rare occasion we buy shop pies I have to take the lid off and rake inside before I will eat it ☺

[Shemadee]

Probably more cooking from scratch but quite happy to opt for the lazy option when it suits! If I go in to town I quite often get a moussaka or Cumberland pie from m&s. I would also buy rice/lentils etc in microwave pouches but oh insists on the palaver of cooking it "properly"! Don't really like ready made mashed potatoes as the texture is gloopy. The ready prepared veg don't seem to keep very well so usually buy these whole and peel etc ourselves. I was surprised at the people on Eat Well for Less who were amazed how easy it was to peel carrots and cut them up! Not exactly rocket science! Don't blame working mums who opt for ease and convenience as long as they make sure it is as healthy as possible.

[Nanto2girls]

I hate cooking with vengeance. Would much rather clean than cook. I'm a Yorkshire girl but I buy frozen Yorkshire puddings and I always buy frozen veg,except for cabbage and leeks or mushrooms.
When I do cook from scratch, I tend to make extra for the freezer. This will be steak pies,cottage pies and corned beef and onion pies.When I make a stew in the slow cooker, I fill it to the top and make portions for the freezer.I have been known to use frozen mashed potato for cottage pies.
There is always a birds eye chicken tikka and a chicken in black bean sauce in the freezer for hubby.I don't like them.
I always buy fresh meat from my favourite butcher.
Like you Oma, I don't buy meat pies, had some bad experiences in the past.

[Enfys]

Mainly cook from scratch although we sometimes have a takeaway or fish and chips from our local chippy. Must admit to enjoying M & S meal deals too. Never buy ready prepared veg, make soup but love Heinz tomato and always make my own Yorkshire puds. I happily use jars of sauce mix, curry sauce etc but I do make my own bolognese sauce.

[Plantaholic]

It is difficult to cook from scratch for one, so I tend to have it two days running, there are very few ready meals I like and they all seem to taste the same. My favourite meal is fish pie and there is a Heston B.. one that I love. I bulk cook tomato sauces, soups and meat stew. I also buy chicken breasts from M&S which have been flavoured with various spices. I buy Waitrose yorkshires then I can take just one at a time. I have found a good recipe for veg.curry which I love as I like vegetables.

[ZIZI]

Usually from scratch but we do sometimes buy in i.e. yesterday I got a Sainsbury delivery and one of their Binghams Indian take aways which are quite nice. I keep steak pies and frozen rice in the freezer just for ease of cooking if we have both had long days or are too lazy to cook properly. Rarely use frozen veg except peas and broad beans. Would never dream of frozen mashed potatoes!! Rarely have a proper take away, cannot remember the last time although we do have a Chinese in the village. I do cook for the freezer so there is always a chilli or spag bog in there. Also freeze left overs such as chicken which I will thaw and put on a pastry sheet (bought in frozen) with veggies such as asparagus, corn, tomatoes etc. to make a sort of open pie. Sometimes I will buy a small fish pie as husband doesn't like fish and it doesn't make sense to make one just for myself.

Looking at Enfys response I realise that it must be three years since we had fish and chip take away but then our nearest one is quite a distance away. I also always have soup in the cupboard and Heinz beans, tuna, pasta in various varieties and passatta etc. to make sauces which I rarely buy in. They aren't hard to make and I find the bought in ones are often rather bland that is not to say I wouldn't use one if I was tired or in a hurry.

[Nanto2girls]

We don't like pasta.Always have fish and chips on a Friday, and soup has got to be Heinz.

[Libra Gran]

Half and half in this house depending on how the day pans out, hubs does most of the cooking and I do the more complicated recipes. We have a great fish & chip shop we use twice a month, they do a lunch time special for £3 each. We find it's plenty, cant stand it when they give you a huge heap of chips. Now we no longer have the chest freezer I can't do much bulk cooking, but tomorrow I have promised to make us a chicken & mushroom pie. Hate shop pies, all pastry and nowt inside.

[WeeGranny]

Since retiring, I find I cook a lot more from scratch than when I was working. As I'm out on Tuesday evenings we have something ready made,usually from M&S that can be popped in the oven ready for when I get in.Keep a supply of chicken breasts in freezer and jumbo fish fingers as well as frozen peas. Am freezing cooking apples just now, either in slices or stewed. make my own sauces for curries,spag bol ,cauli cheese etc. I do enjoy cooking, but it can get a bit tiresome trying to think of what to have for dinner sometimes. Our chippie's food is very fatty and I don't enjoy it but we have a reasonable Chinese not too far away, but again we don't use them as much as we used to.

[Glammanana]

I use all fresh veg and any left goes into a hearty veg soup then into the freezer for lazy days,I also freeze fruit which is in season and will puree it,apples etc for apple sauce,I do use M&S Dine In a couple of times a month and will buy their smoked yellow fish from the freezer its delicious,mostly I will cook from scratch but am not a slave to the kitchen anymore

[Daisy]

I'm certainly not an enthusiastic cook, but neither of us like ready meals, but I do take short cuts. My current favourites are Very lazy Chillies and Very Lazy Ginger. I keep jars of both in the fridge and they add instant interest to something that's looking a bit bland or boring. I do a lot of stir fries, and in the winter I use the slow cooker on baby-sitting days because OH goes out every Tuesday and most Mondays and I often only have about 15 minutes to prepare a meal. I do keep some bits in the freezer - pizzas, sausages and meat pies, plus oven chips for really 'cant' be bothered' days. Apart from peas, I always use fresh veg - most of them from the allotment.

I keep Ainsley Harriott cupasoups in the cupboard and use them with mayonnaise or yoghurt for a dip with crudities if we have unexpected visitors.

[Avo]

Usually from scratch although I use frozen oven chips. We grow a lot of fruit and veg and have our own chickens. We do like a take-away though, and eat out several times a week. I buy Christmas Pudding but make my own Cake and mince pies, but usually buy the mincemeat! I'm not a fan of soup from a tin and usually make my own.

[Gemini]

Oh, yes Avo, I forgot about frozen chips! We don't have chips often at home, but when we do they are from the freezer

[Oma]

Can't stand frozen chips we usually par boil potatoes cut them into wedges then toss them in a spoon full of oil and oven bake them
Brian made chicken noodle soup last night from scratch using chicken thigh meat it was lovely with crusty bread , what was left I froze a handy quick meal on a cold winter day ☺